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Hare Krishna Mantra Yoga

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Ranganatha Dasa • March 23, 2003 


  
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Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu
The Pioneer of Hare Krishna mantra yoga

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Hare Krishna Mantra Yoga - Solve All your problems once and for all 


Hare Krishna, 

Hare Krishna 

Krishna Krishna, 
Hare Hare 
Hare Rama, 
Hare Rama 
Rama Rama, 

Hare Hare


We've all heard the Hare Krishna mantra at some time, but what the heck is so special about this mantra? Why are we supposed to spend time chanting it? What can it do for us? 

First of all, let me explain a little about mantra-yoga. Mantra-yoga is actually a tradition found in almost every spiritual path and religion in the world. It may involve the softly spoken repetition of a prayer or mantra for one's own meditation, or it may be the congregational singing of spiritually uplifting songs, prayers, or the sacred names of the Supreme Being. It all involves the same process, but in the Eastern tradition it is called mantra-yoga because it is the easy process of focusing our minds on the Supreme, which helps spiritualize our consciousness. Man means the mind, tra means deliverance. Therefore, a spiritual mantra is the pure sound vibration for delivering the mind from material to spiritual consciousness. This is the goal of any spiritual path. Although all spiritual traditions have their own prayers or mantras, the Vedic mantras are especially powerful and effective in uniting us with the spiritual realm. 
Many years ago the brahmana priests could accomplish many kinds of wondrous deeds simply by correctly chanting particular mantras. Many of these mantras still exist, but it is very difficult to find those who can chant them accurately. This is actually a safety measure because if the wish-fulfilling mantras were easily chanted, there would no doubt be many people who would misuse them. But other mantras that are available can easily help purify one's consciousness, give spiritual enlightenment, and put one in touch with the Supreme. 
In Bhagavad-gita (10.25) Sri Krishna explains that He is the transcendental om mantra and that the chanting of japa (chanting a mantra quietly for one's own meditation) is the purest of His representations and sacrifices. It is understood that by chanting japa and hearing the holy sounds of the mantra, one can come to the platform of spiritual realization. The energy in the sound vibration of the mantra prepares and opens one's consciousness to higher levels of reality. This is the process of mantra-yoga. Even though the mantra is powerful in itself, when the mantra is chanted by a great devotee, it becomes more powerful. This is the effect when a disciple is fortunate enough to take initiation from a spiritually powerful master who gives him a mantra for spiritual purposes. Then the disciple can make rapid progress by utilizing the mantra. 
In this age of Kali-yuga the process of chanting japa or mantra meditation is much more effective than practicing other spiritual paths that include meditating on the void or Brahman effulgence, or trying to control the life air within the body as in raja-yoga. Only a very few can become perfect at moving the life air up to the top of the head or raising the kundalini force up through the various chakras. And meditating on the void becomes useless as soon as there is the slightest external distraction, which in this age of Kali is a continuous thing. Therefore, the most effective means of focusing the consciousness is to concentrate on the sound vibration of a mantra. 
There are two mantras that are especially recommended in the Vedic literature. One is omkara or the om mantra, and the other is Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, which is known as the maha or great mantra. It is explained that these two mantras can deliver one to the realm beyond material existence. 
Omkara (pranava) is considered to be the sound incarnation of the Supreme Personality of God and is identical with the Supreme Lord. The Narada-pancaratra states: "When the transcendental sound vibration is practiced by a conditioned soul, the Supreme Lord is present on his tongue." The Atharva-veda and the Mandukya Upanishad both mention the importance of omkara. Omkara is said to be the beginning, middle, and end, and is eternal, beyond all material restrictions. Omkara is unlimited, transcendental, and indestructible. As such, it is not so easy for the average person to understand all the intricacies of omkara or to chant om properly. 
Actually, the chanting of omkara is generally practiced by impersonalists and those engaged in the mystic yoga process. By chanting om and controlling the breathing perfectly, which is mostly a mechanical way of steadying the mind, one is eventually able to go into trance or samadhi. Through this system, one gradually changes the tendencies of the materially absorbed mind and makes it spiritualized. But this takes many years to perfect and such a slow process is not practical in this age. If one is not a brahmana, he will not understand omkara and will not be able to get the desired results from chanting it. Therefore, it is not advised that people chant omkara in this age of Kali-yuga because they are generally not qualified to chant it properly. The mantra for Kali-yuga is the maha-mantra, or great mantra for deliverance, which is Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.


WHY CHANT THE HARE KRISHNA MANTRA 
There are many Vedic references which specifically recommend the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra as the most effective means of reaching spiritual realization and counteracting all the problems of this age. Some of these verses are the following: 
"These sixteen words--Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare--are especially meant for counteracting the ill effects of the present age of quarrel and anxiety." (Kali-santarana Upanishad) 
"All mantras and all processes for self-realization are compressed into the Hare Krishna maha-mantra." (Narada-pancaratra) 
"Chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names. In this age of Kali [the age of quarrel and confusion] without a doubt there is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way." (Brihan-naradiya Purana 38.126) 
"In this age there is no use in meditation, sacrifice and temple worship. Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna--Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare--one can achieve perfect self-realization." (Vishnu Purana 6.2.17) 
"The self-realization which was achieved in the Satya millennium by meditation, in the Treta millennium by the performance of different sacrifices, and in the Dvapara millennium by worship of Lord Krishna [as the Deity in the temple], can be achieved in the age of Kali simply by chanting the holy names, Hare Krishna." (Bhag.12.3.52) (Verses similar to this are also found in the Padma Purana, Uttara-khanda 72.25, and the Brihan-naradiya Purana 38.97) 
"Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Krishna, which is feared by fear personified." (Bhag.1.1.14) 
It is also said that all Vedic rites and the results of all other spiritual practices are found within the holy names of the Hare Krishna mantra. Thus, it is the easiest and most effective process for spiritual enlightenment and liberation. The Vedic literature leaves no doubt, as stated in the Skanda Purana (Caturmasya-mahatmya section), that the most perfect process of spiritual elevation that can be executed is the chanting of the holy names of Lord Sri Hari. Such performance of sankirtana can please the Supreme Being, especially in the age of Kali. 
It is also for this reason that Brahma said to Lord Krishna in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.6.24) that in the age of Kali pious and saintly persons will easily cross over the darkness of this age if they hear about and praise Your transcendental qualities and activities. 
The Kali-santarana Upanishad specifically states, "After searching through all of the Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age of Kali-yuga than the chanting of Hare Krishna." 
The Sri Caitanya-caritamrita (Adi-lila, 17.22) also says, "In this age of Kali, the holy name of the Lord, in the form of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, is the incarnation of Lord Krishna. Simply by chanting the holy name, one associates with the Supreme directly. Anyone who does this is certainly delivered." In other words, it is this mantra that provides the doorway which leads directly to the spiritual realm. Furthermore, the use of it means that we change the vibrational level of our own consciousness and the environment in which we exist. This can cause the manifestation of that spiritual vibration and atmosphere in this material world. 
The Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.3.51) goes on to say that this process of reawakening one's spiritual awareness is the most important advantage of Kali-yuga. It also states (11.5.36-37) that enlightened persons who are advanced in knowledge can appreciate the real value of this fallen age of Kali-yuga because in this age all perfection can be attained easily by the process of sankirtana. For materially embodied souls wandering in this material world, there is no higher gain than coming in contact with the Supreme Being's sankirtana movement by which one attains supreme peace and freedom from the cycle of repeated birth and death. 
In the Padma Purana (5.80.2-8) we find a conversation between Shiva and his wife, Parvati, in which Shiva specifically says that Kali-yuga does not harass those who utter the name of Hari or chant Hare Rama, Hare Krishna. One can be freed from worldly existence just by remembering Vishnu's names, no matter whether one is pure or impure. 
The point is that because this age of Kali is so difficult, polluted and disturbing--taxing our consciousness with so many distractions--all other forms of religion and processes of spiritual realization either lose their effectiveness or offer only incomplete knowledge; thus, they simply fail to produce the needed results. They may produce some peace and forgiveness, some moral standards and understanding, but they do not deliver the higher principles of spiritual realization. Shukadeva Gosvami says in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.3.45-49) that although all objects, places, and persons in Kali-yuga are polluted, the Supreme Being can remove such contamination from one who hears or chants about, meditates upon, glorifies, or simply offers respect to the Supreme. Therefore, by remaining ever aware and focused on the Lord in the heart, the contamination from many thousands of lifetimes can be removed. Such awareness is many times more potent than any other process; such as austerities, breath control, strict vows



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